Digest of news from foreign countries (16-06-2021)

A new report on the study of road reliability has been published

The Australian Road Research Council ARRB, in collaboration with the University of New South Wales and the Sydney University of Technology, recently submitted to the Steering Committee of Australia for Transport Assessment and Planning (ATAP) a report on a study on measuring road reliability.

ATAP recommendations are widely used for planning, evaluating and developing transport systems and initiatives. The ARRB team used a number of Australian data on observed travel time and their standard deviations to refine formulas that could be applied to a number of road stereotypes (capacity and congestion). The study builds on the work already done by Austroads (an association of Australian and New Zealand transport agencies), academia and internationally to ensure that investments in road transport bring maximum benefit to society and represent value for money.

This research report was released prior to the development of the ATAP Guidelines on measuring the reliability of roads, and it can be found at the link https://www.atap.gov.au/public-consultations/index

The reliability indicator agreed upon by ATAP is the standard deviation (SD) of travel time over a certain period. In order to assess the advantages of the reliability of the transport initiative, it is necessary to predict the standard deviations of travel time for both the base and project scenarios. The difference will be multiplied by the unit cost resulting from the study currently being conducted by ATAP.

https://www.arrb.com.au/news/new-research-report-on-road-reliability-measurement

Construction of smart roads

A new report by the Swedish National Institute of Road and Transport Research (VTI) highlights the key features of the country's future smart roads. Digitization and electrification will become important components of new highways. In addition, when building roads, it will be necessary to take into account the factors of climate change, as well as the growth of urbanization and the use of various energy systems for vehicles to increase stability.

In order for roads to withstand high traffic loads for longer periods of time, as well as the effects of climate change, the report suggests using concrete, steel mesh or fiber-reinforced asphalt. Additional drainage systems as well as heating may be required due to climate change factors. Communications can be installed in culverts made of precast reinforced concrete sections and placed underground during road construction, providing access for maintenance. Infrastructure for recharging can be built into roads. Meanwhile, the width or lanes may be narrowed as more vehicles will operate autonomously, and in particular autonomous trucks will be able to operate without the need for wide lanes. Security will remain a priority. Smart roads may also contain sensor technology to detect wear problems and efficient maintenance or to track temperature gradients.

href="https://www.worldhighways.com/wh10/news/sweden-plans-future-smart-roads">https://www.worldhighways.com/wh10/news/sweden-plans-future-smart-roads

Using ash instead of cement

At first glance, the new section of highway near Valencia is no different from any other highway. But there are secrets hidden beneath its surface. Thanks to innovative technologies, the Spanish contractor Acciona uses paper ash instead of cement. Juan Jose Pamplona said: "When laying roads, we need the most durable materials. And for this we usually use cement. And paper ash doesn't just look like him. Meeting all the technical requirements of cement, ash is more environmentally friendly! The potential effect of the project is huge. We have calculated that we can save 65-75% of carbon dioxide emissions, and when scaling up, we will achieve cement savings of 18 thousand tons!".

The benefit is not only in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Using paper ash - burnt paper and pulp waste - the company turns garbage into a resource. The current project is one of three pilot projects. And what is the plan of further actions? "Speaking of scaling up, we plan to first enter the use of ash at the national level, and in the future - at the international level," he said Pamplona. Acciona Group is a member of the PaperChain project. Within its framework, the stated goal is to use waste from the paper and pulp industry in Europe. Currently, the annual production volume in the sector - the second largest in the world - is 130 million tons. 11 million tons of them turn into non-recyclable garbage. The RAREGSCHAIN initiative is part of a broader European industrial strategy aimed at ensuring a sustainable approach to natural resources.

https://noi.md/ru/nauka-i-it/jekostrojka-v-ispanii-vmesto-cementa-ispolizuyut-zolu